- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- EVSX Completes Installation of Multi Chemistry Line
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 24
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- Is he serious? Trump stirs unease with Panama, Greenland ploys
- England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring
- Support grows for Blake Lively over smear campaign claim
- Canada records 50,000 opioid overdose deaths since 2016
- Jordanian, Qatari envoys hold talks with Syria's new leader
- France's second woman premier makes surprise frontline return
- France's Macron announces fourth government of the year
- Netanyahu tells Israel parliament 'some progress' on Gaza hostage deal
- Guatemalan authorities recover minors taken by sect members
- Germany's far-right AfD holds march after Christmas market attack
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- Serie A basement club Monza fire coach Nesta
- Mozambique top court confirms ruling party disputed win
- Biden commutes almost all federal death sentences
- Syrian medics say were coerced into false chemical attack testimony
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- France's new government to be announced Monday evening: Elysee
Stocks end higher as attention turns to interest rates
Global stock markets glided to a generally positive finish on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to central bank monetary policy in the eurozone and Britain later this week.
Most of the major European indices still managed to end the session in positive territory, while Wall Street posted decent gains for the fourth straight session after rough weeks of trading in January.
In Europe, London's FTSE closed 0.6 percent higher and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.2 percent, but Frankfurt's DAX ended flat.
The Dow finished trading with a 0.6 percent gain, while the Nasdaq saw a similar increase and the S&P 500 performed more strongly, rising 0.9 percent.
Karl Haeling of LBBW attributed the gains to a feeling that the January market sell-off had gone overboard.
"The market was due for a rally," he said in an interview.
Also helping sentiment were recent indications from the Federal Reserve that while it is likely to hike interest rates in March to curb inflation, it won't deploy aggressive tactics, such as hiking twice as much as it usually does in a given meeting.
"I do think that less hawkish commentary from the Fed officials this week have certainly helped calm some concerns," Haeling said.
Oil prices rose after the OPEC+ oil producers group stuck to its guns and increased output only modestly despite the price of crude soaring to multi-year highs recently. But prices retreated by the close of New York trading.
"The news was hardly surprising, as the group has rigidly followed this approach since it was first agreed upon, even in December when oil prices plunged following the emergence of Omicron," said Edward Gardner, commodities expert at Capital Economics.
Attention now turns to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England as they hold their regular policy meetings on Thursday, events that will be closely watched by investors.
While the guardian of the euro is widely expected to hold borrowing costs unchanged, analysts are predicting the UK central bank will tighten policy for the second meeting in a row in a bid to rein in soaring inflation.
- Off the boil -
In Asia, investors appeared to be less worried about the Fed's plans to tighten monetary policy, while strong corporate results lifted optimism about the outlook.
And while there remains plenty of volatility and uncertainty on trading floors owing to geopolitical tensions and the Omicron spread, analysts remain upbeat for the year.
Some Asian markets were closed due to the Lunar New Year break, but those that opened -- Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila -- all gained more than one percent.
After a difficult January, world stock markets have enjoyed a strong start to February as investors hunt for bargains, according to analysts.
As well as the ECB and BoE meetings, traders are waiting for the publication of US jobs data Friday for the latest snapshot of the health of the world's biggest economy.
The dollar has come off the boil against its main rivals after recent strong gains on expectations of aggressive Fed interest rate hikes to combat soaring inflation.
- Key figures around 2120 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 35,629.33 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 4,589.38 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 14,417.55 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,583.00 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.04 percent at 15,613.77 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,115.27 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,222.05 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 27,533.60 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1304 from $1.1269 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3573 from $1.3519
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.42 yen from 114.67 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $89.47 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $88.26 per barrel
burs-spm/imm/cs/hs
F.Pedersen--AMWN